Tyler Sash's legacy: Family objects to tying his name to ex-girlfriend's marijuana venture

Jessica VerSteeg was grieving over the death of her boyfriend, NFL football star Tyler Sash, who died of a painkiller overdose. The former Miss Iowa started a company that sells marijuana, she says, to help others in pain.
Mike Kilen/The Register

Jessica VerSteeg and Tyler Sash in better days at the game.(Photo: Special to The Register)

But members of Sash's family have not embraced VerSteeg's venture. They've asked her to stop using his name in her business, saying they don't want his legacy tied to marijuana.

"I wish she would just leave us alone," said Megan Wieland, Sash’s sister and spokeswoman for the family. "My brother is not here to defend himself."

'Sleeping 15 hours a day'

Sash suffered his fifth concussion in 2013, and the Giants released him from the team.

With his football career over, the couple moved back to Oskaloosa.

That’s when their relationship started to run into trouble.

“He was sleeping 15 hours a day, forgetting things, depressed, and just doing strange things,” VerSteeg said. “I told the NFL and others, and they told me that it was normal because he’s had concussions and needed time to heal.”

Jessica VerSteeg became an international model before her life changed direction when she ran into Tyler Sash in Oskaloosa.(Photo: Michelle Monique)

Over the next year, things got worse, even as VerSteeg became the 2014 Miss Iowa.

She said Sash became aggressive and increasingly ill. It got to the point where she was cleaning up vomit daily and finding undigested pills in it.

“I don’t know why, but you do those things when you love somebody,” she said.

She read about the signs of aggression and confusion online and began to tell others what was happening, fearing he was addicted to painkillers.

But Sash was the hometown hero, and “to say those things, I was the devil,” VerSteeg said.

Eventually, she left him and moved to California.

Jessica VerSteeg, formally of Oskaloosa and 2014 Miss Iowa, has launched two companies to distribute marijuana in San Francisco after the death of boyfriend and NFL star Tyler Sash.(Photo: Ellian Raffoul)

'You were right'

VerSteeg settled in San Francisco and began researching painkillers and other methods of treating pain.

She looked up marijuana and how it could help, and began thinking of starting a company to distribute it.

“I had an ego. I was an international model, and he was an NFL star,” she said. “I wished I had told him, 'You were right.'"

Sash died a year later, in September 2015, of an overdose of the painkillers methadone and hydrocodone.

His brain revealed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when examined later by experts at Boston University.

“I regret it. I thought it was the pills. I didn’t know it was CTE,” she said of the progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma.

VerSteeg said she became depressed after his death, with thoughts of suicide. She felt guilty.

A month later she was picked to be a contestant on the reality-TV show “The Amazing Race,” which she said snapped her out of the funk.

“I couldn’t sit here and feel sorry for myself about the NFL or the pills," she said. "I decided I could take my knowledge about marijuana and give it a clean image.”

She launched AuBox as a box subscription, using upscale packaging for a less shady image.

Subscribers could get pre-rolled joints, boxes of edibles and other samplers for a monthly or yearly fee, delivered to the subscriber's home. VerSteeg was featured in major magazines such as Vogue with her new marijuana line.

At first, she worried how peddling dope could tarnish the image of a former Miss Iowa.

“When you become so passionate because of losing him, it just didn’t matter. If they wanted to take my crown, they could take it. I didn’t care anymore,” VerSteeg said. “I wanted to help other people, so I stopped modeling and did this.”

Jessica VerSteeg with rapper Jayceon Terrell Taylor, better known by his stage name The Game, who advises her marijuana company.(Photo: Paragon)

'Leave Tyler out of it'

She launched another business this month called Paragon to help people in legal marijuana states conduct business around federal restrictions, but not before hearing from Sash’s family.

Wieland said family members told VerSteeg to stop using his name.

She said her brother had never mentioned marijuana, even though he was open in talking to her about dealing with pain and he had discussed other drugs with her.

“My family’s opinion is that pain medication should be regulated more by the NFL. To me, that’s the bigger issue,” Wieland said. “Having my brother die of pain medications, obviously combined with CTE, is the problem.

"If she wants to have a business that’s fine. We just wish she would leave Tyler out of it.”

VerSteeg has persisted.

“I kept quiet for a long time, but after over a year in therapy I've realized that it's not healthy to keep my life a secret if it can help someone else's life by knowing what I've been through,” VerSteeg said.

Tyler Sash often was in pain after practice, said Jessica VerSteeg, who was dating him during his playing days.(Photo: Special to The Register)

'Maybe if you win the Super Bowl'

VerSteeg, 30, met Sash in seventh grade when she moved to Oskaloosa to live with her divorced father, Scott VerSteeg, who returned to his hometown after retiring from military service.

Versteeg said she and Sash would swim at the pool and catch tadpoles in the creek together before she moved away again — this time to finish her school years in Oklahoma with her mother.

After that, her modeling career took her across the globe, landing jobs with companies such as Nike and on the pages of fashion magazines and Sports Illustrated.

While at Iowa, Sash reached out to ask her to a Hawkeyes game, she said. She told him she was too busy.

“Maybe if you make it to the NFL,” she said.

After he signed with the New York Giants, he called her.

“Maybe if you win the Super Bowl,” she told him.

In 2012, Sash and the Giants won the Super Bowl. By chance, they ran into each other on a break in the year after that, she said.

She kept her promise. They were inseparable after that.

They lived together for a time in New Jersey, and she attended his practices until the Giants released him from the team in 2013. The couple then moved to Oskaloosa, the beginning of a painful descent.

Iowa's Tyler Sash runs with the ball on a punt return during the third quarter of his team's game against Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Northwestern won the game 17-10. Press-Citizen/Dan Williamson Iowa City Press-Citizen

Iowa's Tyler sash laterals the ball to teammate Micah Hyde after intercepting a pass in the first quarter. Hyde went on to return the ball for an Iowa touchdown. Iowa versus Michigan State in an NCAA football game Saturday, October 30, 2010 in Iowa City. Christopher Gannon/The Register

Iowa football players Tyler Sash, left, Bryan Bulaga, center, and Pat Angerer show off the Heartland, Floyd of Rosedale and Cy-Hawk trophies, respectively, as the team is honored in a halftime ceremony during Iowa's men's basketball game against Drake on Saturday night, Dec. 19, 2009, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Press-Citizen/Dan Williamson

Iowa's Tyler Sash, left, tries to take down Michigan State's Mark Dell during the first quarter of their game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich. Press-Citizen/Dan Williamson

Iowa's Tyler Sash runs with he ball after making an interception against Arizona during the third quarter of their game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Press-Citizen/Dan Williamson

Iowa's Tyler Sash intercepts a pass intended for South Carolina's Kenny McKinley in the second quarter of the Outback Bowl, Jan. 1, 2009, at Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa, Fla. Iowa won 31-10. Press-Citizen/Matthew Holst

Iowa defenders Bradley Fletcher, left, and Tyler Sash celebrate after Fletcher broke up an Iowa State pass during the first quarter of their game Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Press-Citizen/Dan Williamson

Tyler Sash of the New York Giants reacts after the Giants recovered the ball on a play that they punted it to the San Francisco 49ers in the second half during the 2012 NFC Championship Game at Candlestick Park. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

'I saw all those problems'

VerSteeg’s AuBox marijuana business was fraught with peril. She became terrified of skirting complex, varied laws and being charged with a crime.

Marijuana is legal for recreational use in eight states and the District of Columbia, and 29 states have versions of laws allowing medical use, including Iowa.

Yet even in San Francisco, where it is legal, she faced restrictions on selling it in other California cities.

Because there are federal laws against marijuana possession and use, and it is listed as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, its distribution can be a federal offense.

That also means it must be purchased with cash, and those working in the industry must be paid in cash. It heightens the risk of robbery, she said.

“I saw all those problems and realized I couldn’t grow AuBox outside of San Francisco,” she said.

That’s where VerSteeg’s husband, Egor Lavrov, comes in. She married him last April.

Jessica VerSteeg's new company Paragon aims to make it easier for those in the cannabis industry to pay for transactions.(Photo: Paragon)

He became a tech multimillionaire at age 16 and helped her build a new platform for a new company called Paragon. It’s a so-called blockchain for the cannabis industry, from seed to sales to delivery.

Blockchains allow sharing of a digital ledger for exchanging cryptocurrencies.

Information is logged on a block that provides the source of the marijuana, its contents and soil tests where it was grown and other contaminants. It includes ways to track medical prescriptions, she said, without breaking privacy regulations.

It also allows for transactions by using ParagonCoin, which are digital “tokens” like Bitcoin.

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Friends and family paid respects to former Hawkeye and New York Giant football player Tyler Sash during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends and family paid respects to former Hawkeye and New York Giant football player Tyler Sash during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

James Penelton of Oskaloosa, a friend of former Hawkeyes and New York Giants football player Tyler Sash, claps along to the Iowa fight song during a memorial service for Sash, who was found dead in his Oskaloosa home earlier this week, at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Rev. Rodney DeRonde talks about Oskaloosa native Tyler Sash during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Sash, who played football for the University of Iowa and professionally for the New York Giants, died earlier this week at his Oskaloosa home. He was 27 years old. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends and family paid respects to former Hawkeye and New York Giant football player Tyler Sash during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

An Iowa Hawkeye football helmet with the No. 9 on the left side sits above a guestbook as friends and family members of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Rev. Bryan Latchaw talks about Oskaloosa native Tyler Sash during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Sash, who played football for the University of Iowa and professionally for the New York Giants, died earlier this week at his Oskaloosa home. He was 27 years old. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Rev. Bryan Latchaw talks about Oskaloosa native Tyler Sash during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Sash, who played football for the University of Iowa and professionally for the New York Giants, died earlier this week at his Oskaloosa home. He was 27 years old. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends, family and former teammates of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, payed their respects during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

A football helmet commemorating the Super Bowl XLVI championship signed by then-player Tyler Sash of Oskaloosa sits on a memorial to Sash, who was found dead in his Oskaloosa home earlier this week, during service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends and family paid respects to former Hawkeye and New York Giant football player Tyler Sash during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Friends and family paid respects to former Hawkeye and New York Giant football player Tyler Sash during a memorial service at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

Wendell Campbell and Sara Willey sing during a memorial service for former Hawkeye football player Tyler Sash, who attended Oskaloosa High School and also played professionally for the New York Giants, at the Lacey Recreation Complex on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register

'I'd like that to be his legacy'

Those coins, which she launched an offering of this month, are designed for purchase for those in the marijuana industry for delivery, lawyers or office space, for example — everything but the product itself.

She said she just wants to make it easier for people to get marijuana through companies who don’t have to fear they are breaking the law.

“None of this could change his CTE,” VerSteeg said. “But it might have changed his addiction to painkillers and his overdose.”

Wieland prefers that the lasting image of her brother not be tied to pain meds or marijuana.

“He always cared about kids who wanted to be number 9,” she said of his Hawkeye jersey number. “He tried to be a good example. I’d like that to be his legacy.”